Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Russia Moves to Increase Gold Stockpile

"With the value of the U.S. dollar exponentially declining since the establishment of the Federal Reserve Bank in 1913, it comes as no surprise that many world leaders and international economists have expressed their desire for a new world reserve currency. In light of the global financial crisis, Russia may be moving toward a sound economic solution — gold.

On Monday, January 24, the First Deputy Chairman Georgy Luntovsky of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), announced plans to purchase over 100 metric tons of gold every year — increasing the bank's gold reserves by 13 percent in 2011.

Last year alone, the CBR expanded its gold holdings by 23.9 percent to 790 tons. Why the sudden increase? “The current set of reserve currencies and the main reserve currency — the U.S. dollar — have failed to function as they should,” Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit on June 16, 2009, adding that he would like to see the Russian ruble become a global reserve currency.

Medvedev’s desire for the ruble to be a global reserve currency, or part of a new economic world order, may not be the only reason for the sudden gold increase. With the signing of the Customs Union treaty last month, the leaders of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan agreed to establish a free-trade zone among themselves with a common currency. The Customs Union — set go into effect on January 1, 2012 — has been regarded as the economic restoration of the Soviet Union...

...As the value of gold continues to rise throughout the world, it is evident that no new sound economic solution can be found for any country without that precious metal commodity. Even here in the United States, Representative Ron Paul (R-Texas) has been the loudest voice for a return to a domestic full gold standard, though his idea has as yet fallen on deaf ears.

A newly invigorated Russian ruble based on gold may just be the key for that country's rise as an economic power, which could in turn tip the balance of power in favor of Moscow and its newly formed Customs Union.

By means of capitalism and sound economics, Russia is moving itself out of the global recession. The question now is, what will the United States do next?"